14 On the Fur-hearino; Animals 



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family Vulpinoe, while its varied shades of colour are never seen in 

 the pure white pelt of the arctic fox ; with wolves on the contrary, 

 not only will they cohabit but will also produce a hybrid offspring 

 that will for several generations procreate one with another. This 

 fact manifests the close connection that both these varieties of dogs 

 have to the wolves, and would almost prove them identical. Thus 

 far I admit, but I do not, for reasons which I shall afterwards give, 

 consider them only domesticated wolves. They are in my opinion, 

 specimens rather of the parent canine stock unaltered by human 

 experiments, and in appearance such as Adam might have named 

 in the garden of Eden. 



With foxes of any description neither these nor any other dogs 

 will copulate. At Fort Resolution I had a very fine pair of cross 

 foxes in confinement. They were kept within a roomy enclosure 

 surmounted with lofty stockades. One of the windows of my 

 dwelling-house commanded this enclosure, and at it I used to 

 spend hours observing iheir actions and movements. When the 

 bitch fox went in heat in the spring she had connection with her 

 mate. And wishing to decide upon the extent of the affinity 

 existing between the fox and the dog, I shut up a small terrier 

 with her. There was no courtship, the parties were mutually 

 indifferent. I tried Indian, half Indian, and our own hauling 

 dogs, bui with no success, they evidently would not enter into a 

 matrimonial speculation, though they were friendly enough. This 

 experiment may perhaps be allowed to decide the case in point. 



Wild dogs are known to exist in many countries. The Ajuara 

 of S. America, the Dhol of India, and the Dingo of Australia, 

 for instance, all bear a close resemblance to each other, and 

 to the Arctic American dogs, in the most essential particulars. 

 Therefore, seeing that wild dogs as distinct from wolves exist, it 

 is to some such animal that I am inclined to attribute the origin 

 of the dog. From the earliest ages the dog and wolf have been 

 distinguished from each other, and the varieties to which this 

 article is devoted, may have derived their certainly very wolfish 

 appearance from crosses in the breed. 



Whatever be the origin of these animals they are of the great- 

 est service, in fact a necessity to the aboriginal dwellers in these 

 dreary and barbarous wilds. They are the only beasts of bur- 

 then, and although they have not the strength of the fort dogs, 

 still a train or team of three good ones, will haul a load of up- 

 wards of three hundred pounds, five hundred being considered a 



